Prophecy and America

smr wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye4hroPKNMc

hmmmm - beware of false prophets!!

Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds.
Jeremiah 14:14

‘Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognise them. Do people pick grapes from thorn-bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognise them.
Matthew 7: 15-20

BTW you should read what Billy Grahams grand daughter has just written about Trump:
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2020/08/25/billy-graham-evangelicals-support-donald-trump-hypocrisy-column/5625617002/

I enjoyed that u-tube presentation. It reminded me of a time back in the 70s when I was involved in the charismatic movement which was true until I was ordained into the ministry of the Lutheran Church at which time I decided that if I was going to be a Lutheran pastor, I would be a real one and affirm the teachings of the church I would be serving as well as identify with the people I would be pastoring. It would be very difficult to do that with an understanding of the faith such as reflected here in this video. But I still remember my charismatic friends very fondly.

First let's acknowledge the positive. This was inconclusive. Both the left and the right are included. This was not sanctifying anyone's political agenda which is not what we normally hear from that quarter. I know I yearn for that kind of reconciliation.

So what's the issue? First, I remember from back in my charismatic days wondering how to tell the difference between prophesy and wishful thinking. That can be tough. Biblically, prophesy always calls us away from our evil ways lest we experience the consequences of what we have been doing. In the Bible two things almost always pop up. First to be condemned is idolatry and the second is neglect of the poor. God is the God of the poor, the widow and the orphaned child. In the primitive church, care of the poor was front and center. That is the faith basis for my politics and was a major theme in my preaching.

There are other issues that could be raised, but I am going to stop with a parting thought. This sort of thing has always been a part of the church going all the way back to Jesus. Paul, Augustine, St. Francis, Luther, and many sinse have all believed that they were all living in the end times, the last days before the return of Christ for judgment and salvation. Think Hal Lindsey who 50 years ago wrote The Late Great Planet Earth. He attempted to tie in current events to the Book of Revelation. He started with the founding of Isreal in 1948, included the European Commonwealth as the ten horns and the pope as AntiChrist and much more that I don't currently remember. He finally concluded that the end would come in 1988. Well, guess what... we're still here. It is tempting to laugh at Lindsey now. As a believer, I resist that, but I will admit to wondering how many of Lindsey's fans went out on a hill to wait.

When this subject come up with my parishioners, I would remind them of the words in Acts 1: "It is not for you to know the times and seasons the Father has set by his own authority..."

Don

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Que sara sara.